Gaza Freedom Flotilla Massacre London Demos - Photo report

inminds11 June 2010

"oppose the oppressor and support the oppressed - Imam Ali(as)"
this Islamic axiom sums up what the Gaza Freedom Flotilla was about - to break the oppressor Israel's siege and bring relief to the oppressed of Gaza.

Background

Following Hamas's victory in the 2006 Palestinian elections, Israel along with the US and the EU, not happy with the result of the fair election - with the Palestinian peoples choice, they boycotted the Hamas government and punished the Palestinian people by economic sanctions. Israel went further with a full scale blockade of Gaza and when Hamas retained control of the Gaza Strip after the failed Fatah coup of 2007, Israel intensified the siege, totally sealing off Gaza, and co-opting Egypt to close its border, thereby ensuring the strangulation of Gaza, the starvation of its people. The siege has thus been accurately described as 'slow genocide'.

In response to Israel's genocidal policy, activists around the world through organisations like Viva Palestina and the Free Gaza Movement have organised several land convoys and flotillas, breaking the siege of Gaza to provide solidarity much needed humanitarian aid to the people of Gaza.

The latest flotilla, the largest so far, left for Gaza in late May 2010. In the early hours of the morning of Monday 31st May Israeli commandos attacked the unarmed flotilla, which was at the time in international waters some 40 miles from Gaza. After firing on the flotilla from Apache attack helicopters and naval gun boats, Israeli commandos boarded the flotilla. 9 aid workers were murdered and a further 6 are still missing 10 days after the attack.

Emergency Demo Monday 31 May 2010

In response to the brutal massacre, an emergency demonstration was called outside Downing Street at 2pm. People didn't wait till 2pm and crowds started forming from morning. The police had no hope of penning the protesters to the other side of the street and Parliament Street was effectively closed of to traffic due to the sheer number of protesters. The turnout was so good that it was decided after the rally at Downing street we would march on the Israeli Embassy in Kensington, a distance of 3.5 miles. the rally speakers included former UK Ambassador Craig Murry who referred to Zionism as bullsh*t, and Dr Ang Swee Chai who was an eyewitness to the Sabra-Shatilla massacres. Videos of the speeches are included below.

National Demonstration 5 June 2010

A national demo was arranged for the first Saturday following the flotilla massacre. A rally outside Downing Street at 1:30pm featuring speakers, followed by a march to the Israeli Embassy for a second rally with more speakers. Over 20,000 people attended the demonstration. Many of the survivors of the massacre had made it back to the UK in time to address the rally. These included Ismail Patel, Ewa Jasiewicz, Alex Harrison, Baboo Zanghar, Sarah Colborne and Kevin Ovenden. See videos below.

Photos

Raised fist in solidarity with the Palestinian people

Free Palestine

flotilla massacre

marching past Parliament (Big Ben) on the way to the Israeli Embassy

The Hizbullah flag, a symbol of the victory of oppressed over oppressor, is now an established presence at all pro-justice events.

Daud Abdullah (MCB) addressing the crowd outside Downing Street.
(unfortunately we had not secured a position in time to video his speech - sorry)

Survivors of the flotilla massacre - Alex Harrison (with Ewa Jasiewicz)
Alex: "What we went through on those boats and in prison was not one percent of the Palestinian experience, not one percent."

Respect party leader Councillor Salma Yaqoob

Film maker Ken Loach

Poet activist Lowkey

'we are all Palestinians'

British complicity in Israeli terror

Right of return for Palestinians

Same imperialism, just a different skin

Items from the Israeli government list of what is prohibited from entering Gaza

Boycott Israeli goods

Artist Leon Kuhn - Zionism kills Peace in the Middle-East

All the martyrs of the massacre were of Turkish origin..

Freedom for Palestine (T-shirt reads 'I Love Migrants' - from an anti-racism campaign launched just before the recent elections where lies on immigration were stoked to gain votes)

Illegal Occupation - even in international waters!

US - Israel partnership in death and destruction

Israel - pirate

Gaza Siege

For Freedom We Sail - Justice Will Prevail

Keith Sonnet, representing UKs largest public sector union UNISON with 1.5 million workers

Sally Hunt, TUC General Council - its the first time they have officially supported a march for Palestine

Founding member of Viva Palestina Yvonne Ridley: "I am declaring war on Israel, I will do whatever it takes within my power to bring down the Zionist state.."

The emblem of the Turkish organisation IHH (Insani Yardim Vakfi, english: The Foundation for Human Rights and Freedoms and Humanitarian Relief) fly above the crowd. The IHH owned and operated three of the six ships in the flotilla, and the nine passengers murdered by Israeli commandos were its members.

Survivor of the flotilla massacre - Baboo Zanghar : "They [Israelis] didn't have respect for anybody, they put a gun on that one year olds son and forced the captain to take the flotilla to where they wanted to. They said if he doesn't do what they ask him to they will shoot that son.."

Tony Benn outside Israeli Embassy

Journalist and Human Rights activist Lauren Booth: "There were executions on that ship of Turkish people, shot in the back of the head as they lay down.. that is murder!"

Journalist and Human Rights activist Lauren Booth

Jeremy Corbyn MP: "This week I was in Parliamant, and it was a very interesting experience. MPs were queueing up to condemn Israel - that hasn't always been the case. No body spoke in defence of Israel this time - they were too ashamed!"

Jody McIntyre, a young handicapped British activist who lived for nine months in Gaza and in the West Bank village of Bi'iln which is actively opposing the apartheid wall, their protests being brutally put down by the IDF resulting in deaths.

Daughter of Gaza, Maryam Abu Daya

Survivor of the flotilla massacre - Kevin Ovenden, organiser of three successful land convoys to Gaza.
Ovenden: "Nine brothers taken from us on the Mavi Marmara, their blood now lapping at the shores of Gaza. But their blood was not shed in vain, because the tide has turned and we must seize this time and seize it now to make a lasting change for Palestine.."

Survivor of the flotilla massacre - Sarah Colborne, from the Palestine Solidarity Campaign.

George Galloway announces the launch of two more convoys to break the siege of Gaza, a land convoy and a sea flotilla will depart on Eid ul-Fitr to head for Gaza.

George Galloway

Nine shaheeds who sacrificed their lives to break the siege of Gaza, six more still missing.

"[Deportation at the airport] We saw the injured [Turkish] men going through.. a lot had a leg cut out of their trousers or an arm cut out of their top. It had been cut out to treat their wounds.. they were covered in blood, blood that had been there for three days, and some of them had wounds that were still bleeding.. What upset me most was seeing the dozen men, one after another, hobbling across the terminal, with a bandaged foot. I couldn't ask them why so many of them had a bandaged foot, I couldn't ask them what had happened, because if they spoke or if any of us spoke to them the Israelis beat the injured person.. We later found out that they had these injuries on the tops of their feet from when the troops came down from the helicopter on the Mavi Marmara, and they came down firing - they had been shot from above. Some of the men that were killed were shot at close range - head and chest, but a dozen of the men who were shot, among 59 people who were shot, they were shot at the tops of their feet - the bullets were coming down.. They weren't given a wheelchair or a pair of crutches, and if any of the other passengers stood up and tried to offer [help].. that person was dragged away and smacked by these Israelis. The Israeli soldiers sat on the floor, laughed and sniggered and made every one of these Turkish men hobble and hop all the way across, some 200 metres, everyone of them, one by one, made to do that purely for the sick amusement of the Israeli soldiers."